Category: From the Blog

How do you get through something SO big?

Posted on June 1, 2021 by - From the Blog

If you know me at all, you know I love my acronyms.
PFEs, BFDs, and now PLT. (explained below)

Because of my own PLT, I feel a little unstoppable right now.

The way I see it, for me, I’ve lived through 3 levels of Mental Capacity:
Coping, Surviving & Thriving.

  • I spent many years full of anxiety and just coping.
  • Then I learned to let go of the past, keep going…
    and getting through things – surviving.
  • And in a pinch with the pandemic, I used every bit of training I’ve ever had to switch gears quickly, let go of what was, keep going forward and start thriving.  (Yes, there were low moments of chaos and confusion- but I’ve let those go ; )

Overall, my PLT and my yoga practice helped me thrive when I could have easily folded.

I now have a business that survived 2020. We have a growing community of returning and new yoga enthusiasts that seem genuinely interested in the practice for their own mental toughness, not just their planks.

If you had told me two years ago that I would have to find a way to get through an upcoming global pandemic, lose most of my business, learn completely new skills via midnight, YouTube, crash courses and do all this isolated from others, I would have told you that I was most definitely not prepared for that, nor did I have the mental capacity to survive that.

However…… Fortunately for me, I have had decades of PLT for just such a challenge.

And you probably did too if you’re reading this.

I’m talking about Personal Life Training. (PLT)

PLT is real Life experiences of getting through challenging things. Things like school, divorce, relocation, parenting, job loss, challenging relationships, financial concerns, health challenges and more!

(Notice I never use the words problem, struggle or trouble. Because for me that feels harder). But ‘Challenge’ feels like someone told me No and I’m determined to prove them wrong. Immature? Perhaps. Does it work? I’m still here. (humble shrug) ; )

I have spent decades practicing yoga – and I’m not talking about tree pose. I’m talking about breathing slow, to calm my nerves so I can think clearly and respond well in challenging situations. Like a car accident, a sleepless night, losing family, menopause or a pandemic.

I still have to practice letting some things go, being kind instead of sarcastic and truly going with the flow. But it’s so much easier than it was even just a few years ago. Because I train. I practice. And I hang out with others who do the same.  It helps.

Do you cope, survive or thrive in most cases? Are you prepared for whatever comes your way? My guess is yes – to some degree – because we ALL know that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right?  But you can stack the deck in your favor with a little training.

Come train with us and fine tune your PFE (Pleasant Facial Expression) and your BFD (Big fancy dismount – when you topple out of tree pose).

Our Summer Splash Pass is the absolute best way to jumpstart your Summer and start training with Love. And our Fall Yoga Training is the best way to hang with others who love this practice. (Teaching not required to hang out – check out the 100 hour option)

What’s going on at LOVE?

Posted on May 9, 2021 by - From the Blog

Here’s a little update on what’s been happening at Love and where we’re headed.
We’ve been figuring things out as we re-open and seeing how it goes.

THIS is WHY we practice.

Because when eveything is changing on a day to day basis, as it has the last few months/year, we know how hard it is to keep our balance.
But we’re back on the mats and we’re balancing . . . and we’re here for you too.

Are you up for a Spring Challenge?

Posted on March 2, 2021 by - From the Blog

It’s time for a change and a Spring-a-ling CHALLENGE! 

Remember last year when we were saying how it would be nice if things stopped changing day to day. Well now… we’ve changed our tune a bit. We WANT things to change. Things like the current state of being closed, the season, the cost of dental work and the worldwide zoom fatigue. We want to spring into Spring feeling lighter, brighter and allllll-righter.

How? By Letting Go and Creating Space. 

Letting Go is our specialty! We let go of stress, tension, tightness and frustrations, etc. We do this by breathing slow and letting go of exhales and expectations.

CHALLENGE #1:
You’re invited to join us In Studio or Online, to let go ‘yoga style’ on March 16th at 7:00pm for a SPRING YIN WORKSHOP. A deeply relaxing, releasing, Yin practice w/a mini meditation on Aparigraha and all the ways we can lighten the load. $25 if you sign up now. 12 spots in studio and more online. Sign up at http://bitly.ws/bWoE.

CHALLENGE #2:
Creating Space gets easier once we learn to let go. And we all know that clutter clutters your noggin. So, we keep it nice and tidy here at the studio. It feels good in here, right? Every time you step inside, you say, ‘it’s such a great vibe here’. Cause there’s NO clutter!

Were you one of those people who jumped onto the Home Edit/Marie Kondo bandwagon. No? Just me? (And Vonda). And 15k other obsessive organizers!

Well, WE did. And it turned out to be a super CREATIVE adventure. So the second CHALLENGE is to go a little Kondo Crazy with us and edit part of your home, garage, car, photos, junk drawer… anything. Something you’ve been wanting to clear out for decades, perhaps!

AND PLEEEEEEEEEASE…. Please share your creative storage ideas and your before and after pics! I need some ideas!

Tag Love Yoga Studio on Instagram or Facebook and use #lovetoletgo so we don’t miss your pics! Best pics win free tee shirts! You can also email me the before and after pics if you are not on social media.

Sooooooo…. Let’s get to letting go, shall we?  You go first. Just kidding. I already went first. Remember? I let go of half the business, the wall and a lot of you. (where’s the crying emoji??) ; )

I’ll post my pics too. Letting Go is easier when we let go together.

Thank you all for being part of Love Yoga Studio and LoveStrong Adventures. 
Much Love,
: )  

Suzanne  
p.s.  reserve your spot in the Yin class asap. We’re limited to 12 inside. http://bitly.ws/bWoE

One last Breath -(ing email)

Posted on February 22, 2021 by - From the Blog

 

Hello and Happy Monday!

We are THREE short weeks away from springing the clocks forward again! That’s right March 14th is right around the corner and then we’ll have all that evening daylight to get outside! I spent this past weekend in yoga training… moving, breathing, talking and meditating.  And speaking of nasal breathing… this will be my last email about it for a while! (Next Month we’ll be talking about something just as powerful!)

Soooooo, have you tried the Nasal Breathing yet?  If you start googling this you will find SO many benefits from just a few short minutes of practicing each day.

Things like:

  • reduced exposure to foreign substances.
  • increase air flow to arteries, veins, and nerves.
  • increase oxygen uptake and circulation.
  • slow down breathing and lower blood pressure
  • improve lung volume.
  • help your diaphragm work properly.
  • Better SLEEP
  • Less SnoringEverything about this is a magical miracle for your body and your mind! Why Wouldn’t you try it!We spent a lot of time nasal breathing this weekend, and then I slept 9 hours last night. I feel unstoppable today so I’m working on the schedule, the memberships and the MindBody system for re-opening. We were hoping to open March 1st – we’re just waiting for Benton county to be allowed more than 6 people in the studio. Hoping for a positive press release this Friday!WHEN we DO open, we will also be carrying Vital Proteins Waters at the studio if you’re into those delightfully refreshing waters and we’re planning our next LoveStrong Hikes and a LoveStrong Adventure Retreat for early Summer! (And by adventure you know I mean extreme relaxing, wandering/walking/hiking and meditating in nature!)

    Please let me know if I can help in anyway with any of our ONLINE classes. We’re still going strong in the virtual world, filming classes every single day for you all.

    And not to brag but we’ve gotten even better over the past year. We have so much variety in there: Classes for back pain, core strength, chair yoga, a Groovy FLO45 with tunes, a few short classes and some guided meditations.

    We WILL see you soon,

    Much Love,

    Suzanne

 

  • Additional Resources/books/websitesBreathe, James Nestor
    The Oxygen Advantage, Patrick McKeown
    Brian Mackenzie, Extreme Athlete Breath Training

 

Full Steam Ahead – Keep Going with LOVE

Posted on February 11, 2021 by - From the Blog

Audio Version
Okay, new leaf, new note. I’m turning over a new leaf, firing up the engines and starting a new series called, ‘Keep Going…with Love’. Because I’ve been telling myself for a year now, ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can… keep going’. I’m committing publicly to sending this weekly. Yep, Every Single. Week. So if you want off the Love train, now’s the time to depart. (the train analogy is literally just falling out of my brain onto the keyboard, I can’t stop). So I’ll keep chugging along. Lol. But before you decide . . . here’s where this train is headed:  Each week I’ll be doing three things: 1. Highlighting what we’re focused on in training and maybe even some behind the scenes pics! 2. Updating any schedule changes, studio classes and online offerings, with hundreds of awesome videos including a brand new 10 minute flow alongside other short classes.  I’m quite proud of all our teachers and their ability to adapt and teach so many different types of classes. They deserve a round of applause! 3. Using my enthusiasm, optimimism and clever entertainment to ENCOURAGE all of us to keep going and keep practicing so we all find our way to feeling LoveStrong. (did you know that ‘en-courage’ means ‘to inspire with heart’. or ‘to breathe in with heart’. Cool, right? That’s pretty much all we’re doing here… we just need to KEEP doing it!  WHY am I doing this? Because I just had the best Root Canal, ever! Yep, you read that right. I have been slightly terrified of the dentist for 40 years because of a horrible experience when I was young. But I had an amazingly easy and painless experience this week. And I learned three things from it: 1. You don’t have to have that block in your mouth – as an adult, they let you just hold your mouth open on your own. (mindblower! why has no one ever told me that!) 2. Whatever they give you to relax you really works! I was not able to nasal breathe my way throught it for 2 1/2 hours. 3. Your dentist and their team really matters. You should feel good about them. Shout out to the conductors and their crews: Dr. Hagerty & Dr. Wiens   See, before the root canal, I was starting to lose steam. A year is a long time to keep the coals burning and pistons firing without passengers. I’ve been telling myself to just keep going even if I can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow I knew if I just kept going, eventually the winds would shift. And they have. We’re still here and we are about to RE OPEN!!! (stay tuned). All it took was having a great dental experience to remind me that inspiration, courage and innovation can come anytime, from anywhere. So, all aboard, don’t be afraid. This train is getting back on track and we’re going places… together. See you soon and much love to you all, : ) Suzanne p.s  You might have already received an email notification of these posts… because I forgot that it sends you a separate notification if you’ve subscribed to our website. At least you won’t miss out! ; )

Watch your Mouth! LOL

Posted on February 11, 2021 by - From the Blog

Audio Version

 At first glance you probably thought this would be about profanity… one of my favorite topics… because I love all words equally. Nope. It’s literally about your mouth. And Pranayama – breathing (and energy) practice.  

Are you a mouth breather? How do you know? Do you know? Really? I would have said absolutely, 100%, hands down, NO Way, am I a mouth breather. But you know what happened? I started paying more attention. Because I read that book last year by James Nestor. (You know the one I couldn’t stop talking about – Breath) And now that I’m paying attention… I catch myself ALL THE TIME… with my mouth just hanging ajar. Just a little bit, but still! I KNOW better!  

And then I started paying even more attention when I’m walking, hiking or running. (just kidding, I never run). But even on an uphill trek, I’m trying to keep my mouth closed and just rely on nasal breathing. It’s takes some effort! And the second I stop paying attention, there it goes. It does this in part because of something called air hunger. Weird, huh?  

I know I know, you’re thinking, ‘big deal, so what’. It can’t have THAT big of an impact. Well, I’m here to tell you IT DOES TOO! (read that again emphatically in the tone of an 8 year–old telling on a sibling).  

Here’s why it matters. It changes your CO2 levels and your tolerance to it, which lowers the nitric oxide that triggers your oxygen uptake, which affects your nervous system and your heart. PLUS, it changes the shape of your jaw and your smile and your nasal passageways over time. Ever struggle with breathing? Know someone who snores? Asthma? Deviated septum? Allergies?  

Now I’m not stating professionally that closing your mouth will fix all that overnight. Definitely Not over ONE night. But there is significant evidence that many breathing obstacles can magically be adjusted. 

And by magically, I mean the magic of biology, physiology and all the other medical ologies. Your body is magic, I mean seriously, can you really deny that after seeing the miracles of birth and hair growth? C’mon where does all that hair come from – when you spend years shaving and cutting it month after month after month for decades! (not my brother, hasn’t had to cut his hair since he was 28, LOL).  

Breathing challenge this month:  Try two things:
 

  1. Breathe through your nose as much as possible and see what happens?
  2. Try inhaling for 5.5 seconds and exhaling for 5.5 seconds for a little bit every day.  

Eventually see if you can breathe that way for one full minute which would = 5.5 breaths. 
Cool math, right?   

I felt compelled to reiterate this fascinating information on breathing. I want everyone to breathe a little easier this year for all our sakes. This is a good start. Thank you for trying it.  

And now that I’ve got you breathing easy and feeling calmer… I also feel compelled to remind you that we are doing everything possible to stay open until we can re-open.  It’s not feasible to open for 5 people but we are ready and willing as soon as we get a greener light. In the meantime, we also know that even when we open, not everyone is coming back. So we’d like to ask if at all possible, please spread the word about our online classes, library and workshops. Every little bit helps. Thank you.  

Until next time… breathe easy. 

Much Love, 
: ) 
Suzanne  

p.s. Check out my next message about the best Root Canal Ever and the more practical applications of nasal breathing!

What does Spiritual mean to you?

Posted on February 2, 2021 by - From the Blog

The word spiritual is often linked closely with religious, so let me first make the distinction I’m shooting for here.

In my experience, connecting with my spirit means I connect with a deeper part of myself where I’m not thinking about daily routines but where I can feel, sense and hear my heart. Simply letting my mind rest and wander. Not necessarily thinking, but not trying ‘not’ to think either. Open to whatever emerges. (We use to call that free time).

I do this mostly with meditation and writing but in recent years, I’m finding another powerful path to this connection through hiking/walking. (I always add the word walking because I don’t want to imply that I’m deep in the forest or on a mountain top cavorting with bears and eagles having a mystical experience. Sometimes I’m simply walking around the junior high track). Although I have had some pretty interesting encounters with baby squirrels lately!

Do you feel spiritual? How do you connect with your spirit?

With yoga, meditation and writing there is a legit flow that occurs when this connection happens:

* We move and breath and Energy shifts.
* Relaxation follows, brains waves move into Alpha/Theta range
* And that’s when the magic happens.
* The rest of the world melts away for a bit.
* The connection is more clear between your head and heart.
* This is when Ideas break through, Epiphanies emerge.
* Writing them down, expounding on them brings even more flow.
* It takes a little practice. And you can access it anytime you want.

 

In this way, whether magic or science… I believe that everyone is spiritual. Everyone can connect to their own unique spirit/heart/soul/god/universe/consciousness and receive wisdom and insight that is specific to YOU. Whatever raises your energetic frequency will feel good AND connect you to your spirit.

Another way is to surround yourself with LOVE. (and wear it too! ) Seriously. You’ve heard of Dr. Emoto, right? He put positive words on some water containers and negative words on others. The positive ones formed beautiful, symmetrical patterns and the negative ones formed uneven and broken patterns. He saw water as a “blueprint for our reality” and that emotional “energies” and “vibrations” could change its physical structure. (What are we mostly made of? Water, energy and space)

Surrounding ourselves with LOVE raises our energetic frequencies which allows stronger, loving connections. So until we can gather together, connect and surround ourselves with loving peeps, we hope that you will enjoy wrapping yourself up in our new Love Shirts. We GREATLY appreciate your support as this is also part of our efforts to stay open and practicing with you.

Much Love to all of you – We hope to see you soon!
: )
Suzanne

Questions I would never ask you

Posted on December 31, 2020 by - From the Blog

Three Questions I would never ask:

1. What do you want to do with your life?

2. Why are you still single?

3. Are you getting a vaccine?

I could write paragraphs about each of these and why they’re troublesome. But it’s not my place in life to school you on conversational ettiquette.

Where it IS my place to monitor the conversation is inside Love Yoga.

So you’ll never have to worry about those awkward conversations here.

We have a strict policy of
No politics, No periods, No pandemic, No pressure.
Nobody comes to yoga to rehash the current state of affairs and nobody needs to know who you voted for or why you’re moody.
Zero Pressure here.

This is YOUR time. Your time to go inside.
To get clear, strong and calm.

We come here to shift our energy in our minds and bodies so that we feel strong enough to embrace the chaos of living. And we intentionally created a distraction free space.

It is our responsibility to uphold that space for everyone. EVERY.ONE.

So we won’t ask you awkward questions and we discourage awkward conversations. (just to be clear, I’m not saying don’t have awkward conversations, I’m saying don’t do it here during yoga)

And because we’ve created such an awesome space, we really want to keep it. So we WILL humbly ask you to particiapte!

Do you know anyone who could use a little more LOVE?
Because we now have:

a 7 day free all access online pass for new yogis

Two new shirts to share

2021 LoveStrong hike schedule and a Beanie!

plus a new SOUL COMPASS WORKSHOP

Here’s our humble ask:
Please share Love Yoga with someone?

(Also Let me know what you think of our New little
Surprise on the LOVESTRONG page below!)

We hope to see you soon,
Much Love to all of You.
Happy Friday!

Suzanne

p.s. I want to keep doing this my life.

Is getting online making you Grinchy?

Posted on October 12, 2020 by - From the Blog

The two questions I get most often:

1. What is this UnGrinching thing about?
2. Why can’t I find the online class??

First, The UnGrinching!  

The very first UnGrinching was my attempt to lift my own mood during the holidays. I figured there must be others that could use a little more holiday camaraderie. Like extra yoga challenges, UnGrinchy gift baskets and candlelit restorative classes.

So starting in October that year, I made myself participate more. I dressed up for Halloween. A holiday I despise on many levels. But as it turns out I loved the wig! And I think we handed out peanut butter cups and floss?We added a holiday yoga challenge, we gave away gifts for every day of the 12 days of Christmas! And last year we brought in the Gnome Explosion! This year we created a new Grinchy postcard challenge so be sure to get your card and lift your spirits… and maybe someone else’s too!

Plus you could win some great swag, a grinch basket, yoga passes, our 10 year anniversary Love Yoga quilt and more!

Second, The online classes

We have tried various platforms since March. Five to be exact. We are constantly striving to streamline this experience… for you!

We’ve tried Zoom, Namastream, Youtube, Kajabi, and now Mindbody Online’s own Livestreaming platform.  a
Nothing has been streamlined.
But we’re not giving up.
In fact, we’re embracing the practice even more.
Because the word keeps giving us golden opportunities to practice.
We’re right here with you… in spirit. ; )